Tim Pawlenty, lagging in the national polls, has recently begun taking shots at his fellow Minnesotan Michele Bachmann, saying her “record of accomplishment in Congress is non-existent.” He has also started pointedly stressing the need for a presidential candidate to have prior executive experience.
Today Bachmann fired back. “Executive experience is not an asset if it simply means bigger and more intrusive government,” she said in a statement. “Governor Pawlenty said in 2006, ‘The era of small government is over… the government has to be more proactive and more aggressive.’ That’s the same philosophy that, under President Obama, has brought us record deficits, massive unemployment, and an unconstitutional health care plan,” Bachmann added.
Bachmann criticized Pawlenty for “praising” the individual health care mandate and TARP, supporting cap-and-trade, and “leaving a multi-billion-dollar budget mess in Minnesota.”
“Actions speak louder than words,” Bachmann said, pointing that she had “fought against irresponsible spending … [and] cap-and-trade,” and on TARP, had “worked tirelessly against it and voted against it.”
